The system's goal, he said, should be to improve the human condition in Texas, the U.S. and the world.

"Our responsibility goes well beyond higher education, research and health care," he said at the time, less than a year into his role leading the state's largest higher education system.

UT's board this summer has twice set out to discuss their vision for the system in open session as new regents have questioned system spending that does not directly support UT's universities and health institutions.

But a July retreat ended Thursday without a public discussion on the topic, and regents skipped that agenda item in a June meeting in Houston, too.

The question is significant as McRaven enters the last six months of his three-year contract as the system's chancellor. His biggest announced initiatives have been system goals, like the controversial but now-scuttled expansion of UT into Houston.

He has not committed publicly to staying beyond the end of his contract as some regents have suggested they may want a scaled-back system.

On Thursday, the retired Navy admiral declined to say whether he wants to remain on the job, saying that the "board is fantastic" when asked directly by reporters.

"We have not had a discussion," he said. "That will come in time."

He declined to say whether he believed he still had regents' support as he was leaving Hotel Granduca Austin after Thursday's meeting, instead again praising his bosses who are appointed by the governor.

McRaven said in June that he needs to understand the board's direction and whether regents want him to stay when asked by the Texas Tribune if he wants to remain in his role leading the state's largest higher education system.

He added, "If some of the things that have occurred over the last couple years have created friction for the board … if I'm not adding value to the University of Texas System, then maybe I'm not the right guy for the job."

A UT spokeswoman could not immediately say why regents did not discuss their vision for the system on Thursday.

Steve Hicks, a vice chair, said regents are considering potential revisions to the mission statement and were not ready to have a public discussion or vote.

"There's still some work being done," he said.

Charles Miller, a former UT regent, said Thursday after the meeting that regents' lack of discussion "indicates that it's a difficult problem."

"They've got to come to some agreement as to what to do," he said.

The role of the system was a sticking point at the Capitol last session as some state senators questioned system spending, like on hundreds of acres in Houston, a new system headquarters and branding.

Several UT leaders have said that their decision to build a new headquarters was misunderstood. A presentation to regents on Wednesday estimated total savings from the move between the two headquarters at about $80 million. McRaven said Thursday that the system will strategically divest itself of the Houston land but offered no specifics.

Hicks said Thursday that most regents support a desire for a pared-back system, existing largely to support its institutions.

Miller, who supported McRaven's large system expansion into Houston, said reducing system initiatives would be a mistake, even if politicians have criticized spending.

"Anything you do that's important and serious long-term is hard to do," he said.

Regents approved two policy changes at the end of Thursday's meeting, each supportive of the system's institutions.

They pledged to give a larger percentage of the endowment to the University of Texas at Austin in an effort to improve the flagship's ratings. They also said they would spend more money on a program that aims to draw top faculty and researchers to UT institutions.

"We support our flagship, we want to help them and their goal of being a top-five public university," Hicks said at the meeting before the vote on the first item. "I think it's time to put our money where our mouth is."